"Because of a recent European Commission anti-trust ruling, Windows 7's European version will not be integrated with Windows' Internet Explorer, meaning that a browser will have to be installed separately."

So, without a browser to begin with, seriously, how does one download another browser to install? Unless you know the FTP sites off the top of your head, you sure can't research them now can you. Of course if you know this ahead of time, which the average consumer will not, you can download it ahead of time and put it on a USB drive or something. The average consumer will just say what a horrible OS it is shipping without a browser. MS will get beat about the head and shoulders for not having a browser by default. Hell, why don't we all just switch to Linux now, since if the EU has it's way, MS will be out of business. Some may see that as a good thing, I don't, as then that leaves us with Apple as the monopoly. If Linux and other open source projects can fix the myriad of issues, I am sure people will happily use them.

Since when did a real average user actively go out to buy an operating system? Besides any good salesman will tell them it doesn't have a browser pre-installed, to not is just slack.

Well, I actually know quite a few. Then they take it into a shop for an upgrade by some twit with an MCSE that really doesn't even know how to install an OS but can read about them. As for the salesman, they would lie to their own Mother if they thought a sale would come of it, so you can expect them to be slack.

"Because of a recent European Commission anti-trust ruling, Windows 7's European version will not be integrated with Windows' Internet Explorer, meaning that a browser will have to be installed separately."

This is slightly misleading. It reads as MS being forced to remove IE from Windows 7. Truth is that MS removed IE from Windows 7 of their own accord. The EU was planning on having MS bundle competing browsers with Windows.

Since rumour has it that MS can't stand competition, they neutered Windows to avoid having to offer choice.

So, without a browser to begin with, seriously, how does one download another browser to install?

Simply by using the software installation tool brought by the system. And yes, I am aware that such thing doesn't exist in "Windows", so my answer is quite generic to operating systems except "Windows". If you already know which browser you want to use, you simply install it, for example by running "pkg_add -r opera", or you search through a list of available browsers for your OS by the means of the software management tool.

Unless you know the FTP sites off the top of your head, you sure can't research them now can you.

See example above. Of course, you have to know about how your OS works, and you have to know something about browsers because you can't see any screenshots or reviews before you installed it.

Of course if you know this ahead of time, which the average consumer will not, you can download it ahead of time and put it on a USB drive or something.

You are correct. My statement above does not apply to the averare "Windows" user.

The average consumer will just say what a horrible OS it is shipping without a browser.

Exactly. And this will be a reason to avoid this particular OS.

Hell, why don't we all just switch to Linux now, since if the EU has it's way, MS will be out of business.

Haha, very funny. :-) The EU's infrastructure, as well as the IT infrastructure of many (read: most) companies in Europe relies on "Windows".

If Linux and other open source projects can fix the myriad of issues, I am sure people will happily use them.

I don't think that's a task for Linux and FOSS, it's rather a task for education. In schools, pupils learn (haha) that there is nothing except "Windows". With this in mind, being confirmed by seeing "Windows" in offices, then you can't use anything else. PCs from the shop come with preinstalled "Windows", and "friends who are professionals in computers" are very quick handing you a pirated copy of "Windows". It is that simple, really.

I don't think that's a task for Linux and FOSS, it's rather a task for education. In schools, pupils learn (haha) that there is nothing except "Windows". With this in mind, being confirmed by seeing "Windows" in offices, then you can't use anything else. PCs from the shop come with preinstalled "Windows", and "friends who are professionals in computers" are very quick handing you a pirated copy of "Windows". It is that simple, really.

I disagree here. It is a task for Linux and FOSS. The software the average person wants needs to be available for it, and in many cases there is not an equal equivalent. There are plenty of packages that may be "Good Enough" for those of us that know our way around things. It is funny that the people I have switched to Linux, my distro of choice being OpenSuse, with Kubuntu a second, all wanted Windows back within 2 weeks. So far is a total of 20 people. The primary reason? They can't find the software while out shopping that says it runs on Linux. Even after being showed the choices of software available in the repos. That is why it is a Linux/FOSS issue, not just education.